Councillor Sam Zair, the 18th Mayor of Bishop Auckland, described his term as a “tremendous honour” and said he was deeply proud to have raised the funds for Butterwick Hospice.

Cllr Zair said: “It has been a tremendous honour to serve as 18th Mayor of Bishop Auckland.

“I have had the privilege of meeting so many inspiring people who work tirelessly to support our community.

“I am especially proud to have raised £4,500 for Butterwick Hospice, an organisation that provides vital care and support to families at the most difficult times.”

During his year in office, he represented Bishop Auckland at civic events, backed local organisations and promoted the town across County Durham and beyond.

Cllr Michael Siddle has been appointed the town’s new mayor.

Cllr Zair said: “I would like to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my year in office – from fellow councillors and staff to community groups and residents.

“Bishop Auckland is a town with a strong sense of community, and it has been a privilege to serve it as Mayor.

“I give Cllr Siddle my best wishes as he takes over as Mayor, after being my deputy for the last 12 month.”

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Cllr Zair now moves into a new role for 2026-27 as Chair of the Town Council’s Policy and Resources Committee.

The council is preparing to welcome Cllr Siddle as its new Mayor for 2026-27.

Cllr Zair said he leaves the mayoral role proud of his contribution to both the community and to a charity close to his heart.

Murrell pleaded guilty this week to embezzling the sum from the SNP between 2010 and 2022.

John Swinney has insisted voters have “strong confidence” in the SNP following former chief executive Peter Murrell’s admission that he embezzled £400,000 from the party.

Murrell pleaded guilty this week to embezzling the sum from the SNP between 2010 and 2022.

The 61-year-old, who is also the estranged husband of former SNP leader and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, spent the money on items including a motorhome, cars, kitchen gadgets, expensive watches and pens, and more mundane purchases such as hand cream and toilet seats.

He is set to be sentenced in June, the same month that the SNP faces two by-election contests – one in Aberdeen South and another in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.

Asked by the Press Association whether he thought Murrell’s guilty plea would put people off voting SNP in those by-elections, First Minister Mr Swinney said: “People know in Scotland that the strongest voice that Scotland can send to Westminster is an SNP MP.”

But he did not directly address the question of Murrell’s plea, instead saying a debate about Scotland’s energy resources was “at the heart of this election”.

Mr Swinney said: “These constituencies are both in the north east of Scotland, and Scotland’s energy is vital to Scotland’s future.

“But we’ve got to make sure those resources are in Scotland’s hands, because decades of Labour and Conservative control of Scotland’s energy resources have been a disaster for Scotland.”

Asked again about the impact of Murrell’s admission, he pointed to Scottish election results from May 7 that saw the SNP remain the largest party in Holyrood.

Mr Swinney told PA: “I think voters have demonstrated very recently their strong confidence in the SNP.”

He added that the outcome of the Scottish election “demonstrates that right across the country, especially here in the north east of Scotland, there’s very strong support for the SNP, and people have confidence and trust in the SNP and in the leadership I’ve given to the SNP.”

Asked whether he had spoken to Ms Sturgeon, who described the past week as “probably the worst” of her life, Mr Swinney said he had.

He said it had been “a very difficult period” for Ms Sturgeon, but added he was “entirely focused on making sure I deliver for the people of Scotland”.

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Passengers have faced hours of travel disruption travelling to and from Heathrow airport after a burst pipe halted train services.

Transport for London (TfL) said there were no services on the Elizabeth Line between Hayes and Harlington and Heathrow due to a signal failure caused by flooding at Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 after 6am this morning. The Heathrow Express was also affected.

Services restarted shortly after midday after Heathrow’s infrastructure maintenance teams isolated the leaking water pipe, allowing trains to run again.

Heathrow airport said: “Services are now starting to resume on the Elizabeth line and Heathrow Express. Please allow extra time when travelling due to the earlier incident. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

A Network Rail spokesperson warned there may still be delays as trains could still be cancelled or revised.

“While we work to restore the timetable, trains may still be cancelled or revised. Passengers are therefore advised to check National Rail Enquiries for the latest travel information.”

There remains no Piccadilly line service to the airport due to planned engineering works; rail replacement services remain in place.

Customers hoping to travel on the half-term weekend found their plans disrupted with people reporting on social media that they had to get Ubers or minicabs in order to make the journey.

One person posted on X: “At 6.30 we were luckily enough to get Lizzy line to terminal 2 but over an hour wait for a shuttle bus to terminal 5. Chaos there. No info. Ubers £92 between terminals and no extra buses. Took 3 hours from Highbury tube to airport.”

Another person added: “The airport has someone who can post on social media, but the communication at the airport itself was not the least bit helpful. I eventually managed to get a minicab via uber, and am now on the M25 on the way to Suffolk!”

Heathrow airport is the busiest airport in the UK and Europe. Just last year it recorded its busiest-ever day, with more than a quarter of a million passengers passing through its four terminals on 1 August.

Status for the Elizabeth line and and Heathrow Express

A TfL status update warns there are “minor delays” between Hays & Harlington and Heathrow airport due to a signal failure caused by flooding at Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3.

The Heathrow Express status update from 11.40am shows there is no services in either direction due to a fault with the signalling system.

“From the moment that we first encountered Arne, it was immediately clear that he is an individual who does not merely accept responsibility, he embraces it. This was evident when he agreed to take over as head coach, when he guided us to the Premier League title and throughout the season just ended when he faced considerable challenges and burdens.

As Megan Moore began to strip the wallpaper in one of her sister’s bedrooms, she soon realised what had been left behind by a previous resident of the property

A Scottish woman shared her astonishment after uncovering the “shock of the century” as she helped to decorate her sister’s bedroom.

Megan Moore took to TikTok with a grand reveal after stripping wallpaper in the room that will serve as a nursery for her sibling’s baby. “Stripping the walls in my sister’s house for the first time since they moved in to decorate their baby’s nursery,” she penned in a caption. “[It] left us with quite a surprise.” Megan’s video began as work got underway, and it soon became apparent that something unusual laid beneath the wallpaper.

First, a pair of hands gripping a Lightsaber appeared, swiftly followed by the faces of Yoda and Darth Maul.

As more wallpaper was stripped, the images of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi followed in a stunning Star Wars scene that filled the entire wall.

“May the force be with you,” declared Megan afterwards as her video was viewed more than 1.2 million times in just 15 hours, at time of writing.

It prompted scores of TikTok users to urge her to leave the image from a galaxy far, far away in place for the bedroom’s new little occupant.

“So that’s the room decorated then,” one person quipped. A second declared: “This is wonderful. The force chose you to uncover it. Choose your path wisely, little one.”

A third individual expressed relief: “Thank God the previous owners wallpapered and didn’t decide to paint over it.”

And a fourth TikTok user exclaimed: “So you can’t remove that now. That is the remodelling. Her baby is now the coolest baby in town.”

Meanwhile, a fifth recalled a similar scenario, penning: “I still wonder if this mural at my mams old house got painted or wallpapered over, when it was bought by landlord and turned into a HMO.

“If it was wallpapered be quite a surprise for another owner to find it.

They added: “We also had a red cave with a spaceship painting on the fireplace but that had to be ripped off due to chimney issues (though we still have a mini version that was done on canvas).”

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It comes following disorder in the city on Friday, May 29

A man has been arrested on suspicion of encouraging a riot following disorder in Derry.

Officers investigating disorder in the Irish Street area of the city on Friday, May 1, have arrested a 20-year-old man on May 29, on suspicion of a number of offences.

He was questioned as part of the investigation and later released on bail.